Am I Free? Checklist

From time to time, we need to reflect on our lives to see where we are and where we are headed, just as the navigators of a sea-faring vessel does. Below is a checklist I made to help you reflect on the things commonly held important by most people.

Answer honestly each item with either a "yes" or a "no", and write down how you came up with your answer. Take some time and reflect on each item carefully. Search inside yourself. Discussing this with your loved ones and letting them answer their own checklists also will be very helpful. Don't limit yourself to your present situation. Think in terms of what you really want in life with no compromises.

1. I can buy all the important things that I need be it for personal, educational, professional, social, spiritual, or other purposes.
2. I can buy my dream house anytime.
3. I can buy my dream car anytime.
4. I can take a vacation anytime I want to, spending money without concern for my budget.
5. I can commit myself to charitable or social undertakings anytime and anywhere in the world, no matter the financial cost.
6. I can send my children to their college of choice anywhere in the world, complete with lodging and living expenses.
7. I can stop working immediately and attend to our kids full time without decreasing our monthly income.
8. My family can eat healthily even if it costs us more money to do so.
9. I am able to say no when my boss orders me to work overtime.
10. I am able to pursue my life mission or my childhood dreams full time.
11. I am always present during all of the important events in my life and in the lives of my loved ones.
12. I am able to retire comfortably at any age I want without decreasing my monthly income or seeking financial help from my family or children.

If you answered "yes" to almost all of the questions, hats off to you! You are one of the minority group who has the freedom to seek and achieve the important things in life.

But for most people, you may have realized a lot of things during this exercise. That maybe we are not free at all, or not as much as we would like to believe. It's one thing to be comfortable to be living below your means, it's a different world to increase your means so you would have choices. To find out more on how we can address this, check out my two articles "What is Real Freedom?" and "How can we achieve true freedom?".

Some people may feel out of place. You may not have taken the time before to evaluate your life and understand what really is important to you or to the people who matters to you. Or maybe you have not set out a plan on what you want to achieve with your life. I recommend that you make a life plan of your own to discover and to strive for what matters most.

Did this checklist help you realize the big picture of your situation? Share this with your friends. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds.

Are You Truly Free?

Inside Room 1313, Hotel Lafayette.
MORPHEUS: I imagine, right now, you must be feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole?
NEO: You could say that.
MORPHEUS: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
NEO: No.
MORPHEUS: Why not?
NEO: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
MORPHEUS: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you are here... You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You felt it your entire life. Like there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
NEO: The Matrix.
MORPHEUS: Do you want to know what it is? The Matrix is everywhere, it's all around us, even here in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
NEO: What truth?
MORPHEUS: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage. Born inside a prison that you cannot smell, or taste, or touch. A prison for your mind.
-- personally transcribed from The Matrix (click here to view the clip)

Have you ever asked yourself this: Am I truly free? Or were you only led to believe so?

It has been 5 years already since I first realized that I was living inside a real-world Matrix. We all do. Really? You might think that I'm crazy, that I'm only pulling your leg. Far from it.

Let me illustrate by asking you a few personal questions:

• Would you like to achieve financial freedom and independence?
• Are you tired of the old system? Do you want to live on your own terms?
• Does the clock dictate your life? Would you want to lead a more stress-free and peaceful life?
• Do you want to maximize your freedom of choices instead of your budget always limiting you?
• Would you want to take control of your financial future?

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions, then I think that you are also like me, seeking freedom. Either consciously or subconsciously, we all desire to be free. That desire, that yearning within us is an indication that we are not living the lives that we actually want. It's like there is an invisible prison, keeping us confined to just where we are. This leads us to a lot of questions like: "What is real freedom?" and "How can we achieve true freedom?". Do read these articles and let me show you "how deep the rabbit hole goes."

I also prepared a short checklist to gauge your level of present freedom. Invest some time on answering it honestly as it may let you realize where you are now compared to where you really want to be.

Want to know more about how to achieve a life of freedom and choice? Subscribe to my feeds to receive free information and updates.